Display devices



United States Patent 3,285,424 DISPLAY DEVICES Byron C. Emery, GrandHaven, Mich., assignor to Harbor Industries, Inc., Grand Haven, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Filed Dec. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 421,550 7 Claims.(Cl. 211-55) This invention relates to display devices, and moreparticularly, to dividers which are particularly well adapted fordividing display racks, and the like.

It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a noveldivider for display racks and the like.

Another object is to enable display racks, and the like, to be dividedin a novel and expeditious manner.

In display racks for greeting cards, and the like, it is common practiceto display the cards in stacks, with the stacks disposed on their edgesin long troughs or compartments, with the troughs or compartmentsdivided into smaller compartments, in which the respective stacks ofindividual cards are disposed. In some such racks heretofore known inthe art, the divisions separating the smaller compartments have beenpermanent However, such construction is undesirable because, forexample, the widths of such compartments is then fixed, and the maximumwidth of card which may be displayed in such a rack may be no greaterthan the widest compartment in the rack. Also, with the compartmentsizes fixed, space is often wasted in the display of such cards, becausethe compartments are often wider than is necessary to receive certaincards being displayed. Thus, it has been found desirable to constructcard display racks, and the like, in such a manner that the width of thevarious compartrnents may be adjusted. It is an important object of thepresent invention to enable this to be accomplished in a novel andexpeditious manner. I 7

'Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel dividerfor card display racks, and the like, which may be quickly and easilyinstalled in and removed from such a rack, and which may be readilyadjusted to various positions in such a racks.

Removable dividers for card display racks, and the like, have beenheretofore known in the art. However, such dividers as have beenheretofore known in the art have commonly had several inherentdisadvantages such as, for example, requiring a different size dividerfor each different front-to-back depth of card rack compart ment; noteffectively filling the compartment from iron-t to back, so that cardsin the compartment may slip edgewise past the dividerinto anothercompartment; being difficult to install, remove, or adjust; or beingcomplicated in. construction and operation, and the like. It is anotherobject of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages. Afurther object of the present invention is to afford a novel divider ofthe aforementioned type wherein the parts thereof are so constituted andarranged that a single divider may be effectively used in compartmentsof several different depths.

Another object is to afford a novel divider of the aforementioned typewhich is automatically adjustable, in a novel and expeditious manner, toaccommodate various depths of compartments in which it may be used. ,Yetanother object. is to afford a novel divider of the aforementioned typewhich is practical and eflicient in operation, and which may be readilyand economically produced commercially.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and whatPatented Nov. 15, 1966 I now consider to be the best mode in which Ihave contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of theinvention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used andstructural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the present invention and the purview of theappended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a card display rack embodying dividersembodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one of the dividers shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail sectional view takensubstantially along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail sectional view takensubstantially along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail sectional view takensubstantially along the line 5-5 in FIG. 1.

In the drawings, a plurality of dividers 1, embodying the principles ofthe present invention, are shown mounted in a card display rack 2 toillustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The display rack 2 is substantially rectangular in shape, including afront wall 3 and a rear wall 4 disposed in upright, substantiallyparallel spaced relation to each other, with two oppositely disposedside walls 5 and 6 extending between the front wall 3 and the rear wall4 in substantially perpendicular relation thereto. Three partition walls7 and 8 and 9 'are disposed between the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4in substantially parallel spaced relation thereto and to each other,FIGS. 1 and 3-5. The partition wall 7 is spaced rearwardly from thefront wall 3, the walls Sand 7 affording the front and rear walls,respectively, of a trough or elongated compartrnent 10, FIGS. 1 and 5,which extends between the side walls 5 and 6. The partition wall 8 isspaced rearwardly from the partition wall 7, the walls 7 and 8 affordingthe front and rear walls, respectively, of a trough or elongatedcompartment 11, FIGS. 1 and 4, which extends between the side walls 5and 6. The partition wall 9 is disposed rearwardly of the partition wall8, the walls 8 and 9 affording the front and rear walls, respectively,of a trough of elongated compartment 12-,

- FIGS. land 3, which extends between the side walls 5 and 6. Thepartition wall 9 is disposed forwardly ofthe rear wall 4, the walls 9and 4 affording thefront and rear walls, respectively,,of atrough "orelongated compart ment 13, FIG. 1, which extends between the side walls"5and6.

The compartments 10 13 are open at the top, and are closed at the bottombysuitable bottom walls, not shown, in a manner well known in the art.

All of the clips 1, shown in FIG. I, are identical in construction, eachembodying an elongated body portion polypropylene.

16 and rear portion 17, and defines the upper end of the slot 18.

The body member 14 may be made of any suitable flexible material, suchas, for example, a suitable thermo plastic polymer or co-polymer such aspolyethylene or The upper end portion 19 of the body member. ,14 affordsa hinge connection between the front portion 16 and the rear portion 17,the portions 16 and 17 being pivotable or flexible around theinterconnection thereof afforded by the upper end portion'19 toward andaway from each other to thereby close and narrow the slot 18,respectively, for a purpose which will be discussed in greater detailpresently.

. The front edge portion 16 has a front edge 20 which, at its lower endportion, at least, is preferably convex outwardly, FIGS. 3-5. The frontedge portion 16 also includes a rear edge 21, which curves downwardlyand rearwardly from the upper end of the slot 18, and terminates at itslower end at the lower end 22 of the front edge portion 16, which ispreferably rounded. The front edge portion 16 of the body member 14 islonger than the rear edge portion 17, and in its normal, unflexedposition, curves downwardly and rearwardly in such a manner that thelower end 22 thereof terminates below the rear edge portion 17 invertical alignment therewith,

I The rear edge portion 17 of the body member 16 embodies a convexoutwardly front edge 23. The curva: tures of the rearedge 21 .of thefront edge portion 16, and-of the front edge 23 of the rear edge portion17 are such-that when the body member 14 is disposed in normal',unflexed position, FIGS. 2-4, the front and rear edges of the slot 18flare outwardly away from each other from the upper end portion of theslot 18 to the lower end thereof. u 1 The clip may be made of anysuitable material such as, for example, the aforementioned polypropyleneor polyethylene, and embodies a substantially flat front wall 24, havinga .reversely bent, downwardly extending flange 25 at the top thereof.The front wall 24 projects outwardly from the body member 14 insubstantially perpendicular relation thereto, with the flange 25projecting rearwardlyfrom thefront wall 24, and, preferably, with therear face 26 of the front wall 24 disposed in uniplanar relation to therear edge portion 17 of the body member 14. r i

. In the use of the divider 1, it may be moved vertically downwardlyinto a compartment of a card display rack, or the like, such as forexample, the compartment 11, of the rack 2, FIGS. 1 and 4, into positionwherein the body member. extends laterally between the front andrearwalls of the compartment, and the clip 15 is hooked over the upper edgeof'one of the aforementioned walls, such as, for example, the rear wall8, in position to support the body member 14 in such position betweenthe front and rear walls of the compartment.

The vparts of thedivider 1 are so constituted and arranged that it maybe used in compartments having a variety of depths, from front to rear,while still affording all-effective divider for such compartments. Thus,for example, in a compartment having the maximum width for theparticular size divider being used,'such as, for example, thecompartment 11, FIG. 4, when the divider 1 is disposed in operativeposition'in. the compartment 11, with the clip 15 hooked over the upperedge of the rear partition wall 8, the rear edge of the divider 1 isdisposed in engagement with' the front face of the partition wall 8, andthe front edge 20 of the divider 1 is disposed in engagement withtherear face of the partition wall 7; Thedepth of the compartment 11,from front to rear, is such that the aforementioned engagement of thedivider 1 with the walls..7 and 8 is effected without flexing of .thefront and rear portions 16 and 17. of the divide-r toward each other.

However, the divider 1 also may be used in compartments, such as, forexample, the compartment 10, FIG. 5,-having a lesserdepth than thecompartment 11. In

, such use of the divider 1, it may be moved downwardly into thecompartment 10 by flexing the front edge portion -.16 of the bodymember, 14 rearwardly toward the rear edgeportion 17, to thereby narrowthe width of the "derql. Norma1ly,; suchflexing of the front edgeportion 16 may be accomplished by pressing the divider v.1 downwardlybetween the walls 3 and 7, the upper edge of the wall 3 engaging thelower portion of the convex front edge 20 of the divider 1 and ridingupwardly therealong to cam the front edge portion 16 rearwardly to wardthe rear edge 17. However, if desired, such flexing of the front edgeportion 16 toward the rear edge portion 17 may be manually accomplishedby the fingers or by the use of a suitable tool.

With the lower end portion of the front edge 20 of the divider 1 beingconvex in shape, the divider 1 may not only be readily installed incompartments of various widths, but may also be installed incompartments wherein the front and rear walls thereof terminate atvarious heights relative to each other. Thus, for example, the divider 1may be mounted in a'compartment, such as a compartment 12, FIG. 3, whichmay be of the same width as the compartment 10, shown in FIG. 5, butwherein the wall 8 terminates below the upper edge of the wall 9 agreater distance than the upper edge of the wall 3 terminates below theupper edge of the wall 7. As illustrated in FIG. 3, under theseconditions, the divider 1 may be inserted into the compartment 12 intoposition wherein the clip 15 is mounted on the upper edge of the rearwall 9 thereof, and the upper edge of the front wall 8 is disposed inabutting engagement with the lower end portion of the front edge 20 ofthe divide-r 1.

In all operative positions of the divider 1 wherein the front and rearedges thereof are disposed in abutting engagement'with respective onesof the front and rear walls of a card display rack compartment, thedivider 1 affords effective blocking of all vertical planes between thefront and rear of the compartment in such a manner that cards the rearedge portion 17 in such a manner as to insure such operation of thedivider 1.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although thedividers 1 are shown mounted on the rear walls of the compartments10-13, with the body members 14 projecting forwardly therefrom, this ismerely by way of illustration, and, not by way of limitation, and that,if desired, the divider 1 may be mounted on the front walls of thecompartments 10-13, with the body member 14 projecting rearwardlytherefrom, without departing from the purview of the present invention.

2 It will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention affordsa novel divider which may be quickly and easily installed in operativeposition on display racks for greeting cards, and thelike, and may alsobe quickly and easily removed therefrom.

In addition, it will-be seen that'the present invention affords a noveldivider which may be quickly and easily adjusted to different positionson such a card rack.

Also, the present invention affords a novel divider which may be used oncompartments of various front-to-rear depths in such display racks, soas to minimize. the number of different sizes of dividers which it isnecessary to stock for display racks having compartments of variousdepths.

Also, it will be seen that the present invention affords a novelandpractical divider for display racks,'and the like, which may bereadily and economically produced commercially.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described "the 'preferred embodimentof my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable ofvariation and modification, andI therefore do not wish to be limited tothe precise details setforth, but desire to avail myself of such changesand alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A divider for card display racks of the type having front and rearwalls defining respective opposite sides of a compartment, said dividercomprising (a) a body portion having (1) an =upper end, and

(2) a lower end, v I

(b) said body portion including two oppositely disposed lateral edgeportions (1) hin'gedly' connected to each other at said upper end,-and;I

(2) projecting downwardly from said upper end 1 in spaced relationtoeach other, and

(c')'means on one of saidlateral edge portions for mounting'said bodyportion on an upper edge portion of one wall in downwardly extendingposition between walls'with said edge'portions disposed in abuttingengagement with-adjacent walls, t I

(d) one of said edge portions projecting downwardly and horizontallyinto position vertically below the other of said edge portions.

2. A divider for card display racks of the type having front and rearwalls defining respective opposite sides of a compartment, said dividercomprising (a) a body portion having a front portion and a rear portion(1) hingedly connected together at their top edge portions,

(2) projecting downwardly from said top edge portions in horizontallyspaced relation to each other, and

(3) rotatable toward and away from each other,

and

(b) means on one of said first-mentioned portions for removablysupporting said body portion from one wall with (1) said rear portiondisposed in abutting engagement with a rear wall, and

(2) said front portion disposed in abutting engagement with a frontwall,

(c) said front and rear portions horizontally overlapping each otherbelow said top edge portions.

3. A divider for display racks of the type for displaying stacks of flatarticles, such as cards, in upstanding position on their edges betweenfront and rear walls which define opposite sides of a compartment, saiddivider comprising (a) a body portion comprising (1) a rear edgeportion,

(2) a front edge portion, and

(3) an intermediate portion extending between and operativelyinterconnecting the tops of said front and rear edge portions,

(b) a said front and rear portions (1) being spaced from each other atall points below said intermediate portion, and

(2) being pivotable on said intermediate portion forwardly andrearwardly relative to each other,

(e) one of said front and rear portions extending downwardly below theother of said front and rear portions into position vertically belowsaid other portion, and

(d) means on one of said front and rear portions for supporting saidbody portion in a compartment from one wall with said rear portionengaging a rear wall and said front portion engaging a front wall.

4. A divider for display racks of the type for displaying stacks of flatarticles, such as cards, in upstanding position on their edges betweenfront and rear walls which define opposite sides of a compartment, saiddivider comprising (a) a substantially flat body portion comprising (1)a substantially vertically extending rear edge portion, (2). asubstantially vertically extending front edge portion, and (3) an upperedge portion (a') extending between and operatively interconnecting thetops of said front and rear edge portions, and (-b) disposed insubstantially uniplanar relation to said front and rear edge por tions,

' (b) one ofsaid front and rear portions having a convex edge portionremote from the other of said front and rear portions (c) a clip mountedon the edge portion of said other portion remote from said convexportion for removably mounting said divider on a top edge portion of onewall in position to extend downwardly into a compartment with V (1) saidbody portion disposed substantially perpendicular to said clip,

(2) said edge portion of said other portion disposed in engagement withthe one wall, and (3) said convex edge portion disposed in engagementwith another wall,

(d) said front and rear portions (1) being spaced from each other at allpoints below said upper edge portion and (2) being flexible on saidupper edge portion forwardly and rearwardly relative to each other,

(e) one of said front and rear portions extending downwardly below theother of said front and rear portions into position vertically belowsaid other portion.

5. A divider for display racks of the type for displaying stacks of flatarticles, such as cards, in upstanding position on their edges betweenfront and rear walls which define opposite sides of a compartment, saiddivider comprising (a) a substantially fiat body portion comprising (1)a substantially vertically extending rear edge portion, (2) asubstantially vertically extending front edge portion, and (3) an upperedge portion (a') extending between and operatively in terconnecting thetops of said front and rear edge portions, and (b) disposed insubstantially uniplanar relation to said front and rear edge portions,

(b) said front edge portion having a convex front edge remote from saidrear edge portion,

(c) said rear edge portion having a substantially flat rear edge remotefrom said front end portion,

(cl) a clip mounted on said rear edge portion and extending along saidrear edge in position to removably support said body portion from theupper edge portion of a rear wall with (1) said rear edge disposed inengagement with a rear Wall, and

(2) said convex front edge disposed in engagement with a front wall,

(e) said body portion having an elongated slot (1) extending downwardlyand rearwardly from said upper edge portion, and

(2) separating said front edge portion from said rear edge portion,

(f) said front edge portion extending downwardly and rearwardly intoposition vertically below said rear edge portion and terminatingforwardly of the vertical plane of said rear edge, and

(g) said front and rear edge portions being resiliently flexible on saidupper edge portion toward and away from each other to narrow and widensaid slot.

6. A divider as defined in claim 5, and in which said body portion andsaid clip are made of plastic material.

7. A display rack having a front wall and a rear wall defining oppositesides of a compartment in which flat (a) a divider for dividing saidcompartment and limiting the movement of cards in a stack in onedirection in said compartment along said walls, (b) said dividercomprising (1) a body member having oppositely disposed side edges, and

(2) a clip mounted along one of said side edges and hooked over one ofsaid walls in position to support said body member in said compartmentwith (a) one'of said edges disposed in engagement with said one Wall,and' (b) the other of said side edges disposed in engagement with theother of said walls, (c) said body member having (1) a front portion,

(2) a rear portion, and (3) a downwardly opening slot separating said v,front and rear portions, r

(d) one of said portions extending downwardly below the other of saidportions and terminating at its lower end in vertical alignment withsaid other por tion, and

(e) said front and rear portions of said body member being flexibletoward ,and away from each other to close and open said slot. a

References Cited by the Examiner I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,869,7321/1959 Ganz 1211-1s4 2,938,634 5/1960 Ganz -1 211-184 3,139,186 6/1964George 211-55 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

20 W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner.

2. A DIVIDER FOR END CARD DISPLAY RACKS OF THE TYPE HAVING FRONT ANDREAR WALLS DEFINING RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE SIDES OF A COMPARTMENT, SAIDDRIVER COMPRISING (A) A BODY PORTION HAVING A FRONT PORTION AND A REARPORTION (1) HINGEDLY CONNECTED TOGETHER AT THEIR TOP EDGE PORTIONS, (2)PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID TOP EDGE PORTIONS IN HORIZONTALLY SPACEDRELATION TO EACH OTHER, AND (3) ROTATABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACHOTHER, AND (B) MEANS ON ONE OF SAID FIRST-MENTIONED PORTIONS FORREMOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID BODY PORTION FROM ONE WALL WITH (1) SAID REARPORTION DISPOSED IN ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT WITH A REAR WALL, AND (2) SAIDFRONT PORTION DISPOSED IN ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT WITH A FRONT WALL, (C)SAID FRONT AND REAR PORTIONS HORIZONTALLY OVERLAPPING EACH OTHER BELOWSAID TOP EDGE PORTIONS.